Puyat meets with Japan officials to boost tourist arrivals in PH

FILE PHOTO: DOT Secretary Berna Romulo – Puyat

MANILA, Philippines — Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat has met with tourism executives in Japan to promote the Philippines as a safe travel destination, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Tuesday.

“The Philippines and Japan share a common goal for the tourism sector: promoting our respective destinations and thereby contributing meaningfully to the growth of our nations’ economies,” Puyat said in a statement.

Before the pandemic, Japan had regularly been the Philippines’ fourth largest tourism source market. In 2019, 682,788 Japanese tourists visited the country. As of March 20, 2022, the Philippines had received 2,125 leisure travelers from Japan since its reopening to tourism on February 10, the DOT said.

Puyat led the Philippine delegation in meeting with the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, the DOT’s counterpart, to address the resumption of two-way tourism traffic between the two nations.

During the Philippine delegation’s official visit, Puyat spoke with Japanese travel agencies, tour operators, tourism organizations, English study operators, economic federations, and Japanese media in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka.

Tourism organizations and agencies including STWorld, Japan Association of Travel Agents, JTB Corp, Japan Travel and Tourism Association, Hankyu Travel International Co., Ltd, Kansai Economic Federation, and the Japan Philippine Tourism Council, were among the major participants during the visit, according to DOT.

The Tourism Secretary also invited Japanese tourism stakeholders to the first World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit, which will be hosted in Manila from April 20 to 22.

The upcoming WTTC Summit, according to Puyat, will “open discussions between industry stakeholders, organizations, and governments to support economic recovery through the restarting of travel and tourism and attracting investments centered on the safe and secure reopening of the industry.”

The tourism chief also stated that hosting the summit is helpful to the Philippines since it allows the country to demonstrate what it can offer in terms of boosting investments on a global scale.

“Through this event, we aim to stimulate discussions on how to solve the social, environmental, and economic challenges faced by the global travel and tourism industry,” she said.

“Likewise, we aim to increase the public’s appreciation for the travel and tourism industry’s role as a driver of economic growth, livelihoods and employment, and sustainable development,” she added. Jericho Zafra, INQUIRER.net intern

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